Being apart of a generation that seems to be glued to their smartphones, we all have that friend who just cannot handle being without it. There are a series of Snickers commercials with the solgan, "You're just not you when you're hungry" and we decided that this was equally as true for some people when they lose their beloved smartphone. They seem to become a less evolved version of themselves, seemingly helpless without their go-to lifeline.
I have never really made a video before so there were definitely challenges we came across as a group but not as much in regards to actually making the video. One of the biggest challenges was simply coming up with an idea and executing it. As it happens with most group work, the idea seems to take the most time. Working with a group though is the better option because having a collective input really assures the best options were made. The most rewarding part of this whole process was how simple the actual movie making process was. Sometimes I am proud by this and sometimes a little scared but I feel that my brain just understands technology in a way my parents cannot. Figuring out new technologies, is more like puzzle than actually learning something totally new. And there is always Yahoo! answers if I do have a problem putting the puzzle together.
The North Face can provide you with the goods you need so that you can never stop exploring the nature you live for.
The North Face is all about adventure. They want you to get out there explore, and they want you to do so in their products. This ad demonstrates many key things from our toolsets.
Shifts:Through this advertisement, The North Face is demonstrating shifts from word to image. They use no words until the end of the ad because in order to best sell their products they show their product in use. This ad was made not for a magazine, billboard, or newspaper but rather for a screen. I found this ad on YouTube, where people are able to interact with the ad by commenting, liking or sharing the video representing a shift to more participatory media. There is also a technological shift represented by the fact The North Face makes these ads available online.
Triune Brain:These shifts allows The North Face to better activate your limbic brain with fast pace, exciting adventure shots and pulsing music that makes you want to hop off your couch and get to a mountain rather than working your neocortex with words and descriptions of the products. The music also right off the bat activates your reptilian brain.
Claims: Although there are no words or speaking through this advertisement, viewers can take away claims made by The North Face in this ad. Consumers would believe from this ad that The North Face has gear and equipment for all the adventures seen in their ad. They imply that their goods have been used in the situations seen and that they work well in those situations.
Questioning Media: Through pacing and production techniques, the North Face creates a fast paced, exciting environment that makes consumers feel that they want and need their products, in order to do what the climbers, hikers, skiers, and runners do with such passion, drive and excellence in the ad. They create a reality that if you have North Face products then you can get out there and have adventures like the ones seen by current North Face consumers. What The North Face doesn’t really explain is how their products are being used and how experienced the people in their ad are.
Persuasive Techniques: They use strength and diversion to keep these questions out of the minds of their consumers. They use denial by showing only epic moments, not failures that surely these adventurers experience. They utilize simple solutions to make consumers feel that if they had their products they could be as great as the people in the ad. The production techniques create great timing, that keeps the consumer engaged and excited about the products.The North Face uses a recreational relationship with the environment to promote their product. They utilize people's love for nature, adventure, and the environment to best sell their outdoor gear. This ad exemplifies one of my favorite quotes by Edward Abbey:
"Be as I am - a reluctant crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it's still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizz, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for awhile and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those deskbound people with their hearts in a safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this: you will outlive the bastards."
After watching Alice in Wonderland when I was a kid, I started celebrating unbirthdays. I viewed them as equally as important to any other holiday. It didn’t really catch on but I loved the idea, still kind of do. Alice in Wonderland was my all time favorite movie as a kid. But it didn’t have much competition. As a kid, I was allowed to watch very few movies and very little amounts of TV. Media platforms in my home were selective. Things like the computer and television were used seldom but our books and music were essential in our entertainment. I would delve into the adventures of my books for hours. Reading in my household was looked at as the ultimate excuse. If we didn’t want to do something, my siblings and I would just read and use it to get out of anything. I would also escape into music exploring my tastes. As a kid, I spent hours at a time listening to my dad’s old records and CDs, and I definitely had the best collection of cassette tapes among my friends.
When my friends talk about their favorite shows and movies on the other hand, I am often on the outside of those conversations. I watched the Disney movies on special occasions and Alice in Wonderland if I begged my mom enough, and it wasn’t nice outside. T.V. was not allowed until I was about five or six. Aside from the news and Sunday football games the television was a dead box that lay in the corner of the room. As I got older and went to school, screen time was allowed a little more. I could watch educational shows like Bill Nye the Science Guy and the occasional Nickelodeon show. As my siblings and I got older we were allowed to make our own decisions in regards to how much we wanted to watch television. None of us really felt as though we had been missing out. Over the years we’ve all developed our fair share of favorite TV series but for the most part we never really caught on to it.
The computer was sort of up in air about whether or not it was a good source of media. I was allowed to play educational games like Math Blasters but not much else. Once we got Internet when I was in the fifth grade, things started changing. My computer demands went up and the rules in my house changed with that. I wasn’t using the computer to play stupid games as my parents were worried about but rather I was chatting with my friends, which apparently was more acceptable. That was pretty much the extent that I used the computer up until about high school. Then the rules of the computer seemed to seize to exist. Aside from the battles over the computer my siblings and I would have, my parents didn’t get involved in our use of it. They didn’t know how to. We needed the Internet for many aspects of our daily lives. My parents had a limited understanding to the extent in which the Internet could be used and what we used it for. The Internet changed the rules of screens in my house.
My parents were strict about my screen time not because they were oppressive or boring but rather because they wanted us to have real life fun. I never felt like I was missing out on those extremely popular media because I was never bored as a kid. I wasn’t allowed to watch TV or play on the computer as a child because there was so much entertainment around me. Between living in a neighborhood with tons of kids my age and having two siblings, there was always someone who wanted to play. My neighborhood was safe, and I could play outside until it was dark or later if my parents were feeling nice. I couldn’t imagine a childhood any different. It is what has led me to appreciating the importance of the natural world around me not only on a biological level, but also on a spiritual one. As I got older, I played sports and was in clubs and activities so I was usually really busy. The free time that I did have I spent with my friends. I didn’t really have time for the computer or television.
These popular media have over the years definitely crept into my life. As a kid the thought of watching television and spending a lot of time of the computer would have been really bizarre. But when I graduated high school and got my first laptop, I found this media platform that had everything. I have discovered Pandora and Netflix watch instantly where I can watch documentaries or movies or entire series of shows. I can research the most random topics that I have always been curious about. I can find weird pictures like the one above of Phish at an Alice in Wonderland tea party near a mountain. I basically found the best procrastination tool in the world. And I use it well. My family was selective about the media platforms in my house because they wanted us to connect with the real world instead of a virtual one. It is always nice to go home for Thanksgiving or Christmas for that. I am able to disconnect from so much but feel so much more connected to the ones I am actually with. And if I want to disconnect from everything there’s always fantasy world, where many of my favorite adventures have occurred…
I'm Lizzy Boehmer, that's me over there --> (photo credit: Knight Ducharme)
I'm a junior environmental studies major with a concentration in policy and development and a minor in political science at the University of Vermont.
I was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and lived there until I was ten. When I was in fifth grade, my dad was relocated to Boston, and my family moved to Duxbury, Massachusetts. We lived two minutes from the beach and I fell in love with New England. About nine months later I was informed we were moving to Chicago. That was the year I lived in three different states and attended four different schools. It was pretty wild. I have considered Chicago my home base ever since even though I pretty much live here in Burlington now.
This summer was my first summer living and working in Burlington. I worked for VPIRG (Vermont Public Interest Research Group). VPIRG is a statewide consumer protection and environmental advocacy group. Basically, I was given a bike and a map and campaigned for a clean energy future here in Vermont. It was a pretty crazy job though. I usually didn't get home until around 11pm. One time my bike pedal fell off while on the job and I had to walk my bike for 4 hours. There were times when the entire office would camp in the woods for a week at a time to get to every end of Vermont. We had briefings from Paul Burns, Bill McKibben and even Governor Shumlin. It was an awesome job with a lot of really awesome people. I am passionate about the environment and being able to work towards a sustainable energy future was great. I was on the front lines of fighting for what I believe in and it was an experience I will always appreciate.
In addition to the environment, I have many other interests. I absolutely love going to shows. My summers tend to be filled with concerts and festivals, and I wouldn't want it any other way! Some of my favorite live bands include The Avett Brothers, Phish, Umphrey's McGee, and The Black Crowes. I'm seeing Phish again in just a couple days which is actually a dream come true of mine to see them in their home state of Vermont. I've been watching some of my favorite Phish videos to get me excited including this gem of Phish in Brooklyn with Jay-Z:
I also love to hike, garden and farm, play frisbee, monopoly and chill in my hammock. I hope to travel all over the world, especially Central and South America. I want to join the Peace Corps after graduating and work and live in a culture completely new to me. In the future I would love to work as an environmental consultant for a group that is doing development work in Central America, that or move to Oregon. Who knows?!
I'm all about positivity, fun and good times! So until next time,
Being apart of a generation that seems to be glued to their smartphones, we all have that friend who just cannot handle being without it. There are a series of Snickers commercials with the solgan, "You're just not you when you're hungry" and we decided that this was equally as true for some people when they lose their beloved smartphone. They seem to become a less evolved version of themselves, seemingly helpless without their go-to lifeline.
